Hurdler Terrence Trammell wins fifth indoor title at USA Indoor Track & Field Championships

Trammell wins 5th indoor hurdles championship

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two-time Olympic silver medalist hurdler Terrence Trammell is used to having success at the USA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

So facing a loaded field Sunday in the 60-meter hurdles wasn’t an intimidating factor.

“I’ve always said it’s tougher to make the team than it is to win a medal,” said Trammell, who took silver in the 110 hurdles at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. “We just have so much talent in lanes one through eight. I just think they raised the bar and they make me focus to do the best I can do.”

That turned out to be good enough as he took the victory in a time of 7.41 seconds, earning his fifth U.S. indoor title.

Trammell used a scouting report to help him.

“I noticed that the starter was holding the athletes for awhile,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure I had a clean start. I didn’t want to jeopardize anything.”

One longtime champion was unseated in the competition used to determine the U.S team that will head to the World Championships next month in Doha, Qatar.

Lolo Jones, the three-time defending champion in the women’s 60 hurdles and the 2008 Olympic Trials champion, came up a little short.

“I know I hit the last hurdle,” Jones said. “Once I hit that, I was just trying to make sure I got top two because the top two are the ones that go to the worlds.”

Jones ended up second with a time of 7.89 seconds, just behind winner Ginnie Powell’s 7.87 and ahead of Damu Cherry’s 7.90.

“After the last hurdle, I felt like I was in the race,” Powell said. “I felt I had more explosive energy there.”

And the win coming over a competitor like Jones gave the victory more meaning.

“She’s a great hurdler,” Powell said. “She’s been the champion for so many years so it felt good to get an indoor title. This is my first USA indoor title.”

Sprinter Ivory Williams, who was the fastest qualifier at the 2009 indoor games before having a false start in the finals, found vindication this year.

“I knew I just had to get my start right,” he said. “I knew nobody was going to catch me when I get out first.”

His winning time of 6.49 seconds was the fastest in the world this year and gives him tremendous confidence going into the World Championships.

“Everybody is in trouble,” he said. “That’s what that means.”

Debbie Dunn also turned in a strong performance in winning the 400 as her time of 50.86 seconds was the fifth-fastest for a U.S. women.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s my first victory in the USA championships, so I’m very happy. Very. I did the best I could and if I had gotten beaten, I still would have been happy because that’s a PR for me.”

In another performance of note, 2008 Olympic silver medalist shot putter Christian Cantwell won the event with a throw of 69-feet, 4-inches.